Business
London hit by travel chaos as Tube staff goes on strike
LONDON – Millions of Londoners were caught up in commuting chaos on Wednesday, as Underground workers began the first in a series of strikes that Prime Minister David Cameron branded as “shameful.”
As tempers frayed on packed buses and the capital’s streets swarmed with commuters walking, running and cycling to work through gale-force winds, Mayor Boris Johnson and powerful union leader Bob Crow traded recriminations over the latest walkout.
London’s Underground rail drivers plan to stay out for two days this week and another two next week, in a row over job cuts and modernisation. The action has brought new calls to curtail the rights of unions to strike in key infrastructure areas.
Some three million people use the Tube system most days. Only a lucky few could cram themselves on the handful of trains that were running on Wednesday.
Cameron said on his official Twitter feed that the strike was “shameful, bringing misery to millions of Londoners.”
Speaking later in parliament, he added: “I unreservedly condemn this strike. There is absolutely no justification for a strike. We need a modernised tube line working for the millions of Londoners who use it every day.”
Police were out in force at major rail stations to keep order in the long lines that began building up at bus stops shortly after dawn. Even so, there were reports of jostling as tempers frayed.
Thousands of workers took to the roads on bikes. Boat services along the River Thames were running extra trips. The more athletic used the strike as a chance to run to work from the suburbs.
Fund manager Richard Marwood was among them. “To be honest, running to work is something I like to do most weeks anyway, but travelling under your own steam is particularly handy in circumstances like this,” he told Reuters.
Lauren Sweeney, 26, a legal PA, said getting to her office would take her an extra 30 minutes, on top of her usual one-hour journey. She lives in Hornchurch, in east London, and works near Liverpool Street in the City of London.
“It’s a hassle,” she said. “Everyone has been talking about how they are going to get in to work for days.”
JOB LOSSES
The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport workers (RMT) and the Transport Salaried Staffs’ Association (TSSA) unions called the strike to protest against job losses and plans to close manned ticket offices as part of the modernisation of the 151-year-old network. A second 48-hour strike is planned for February 11 to February 14.
RMT leader Crow said the strike was “rock solid” and had reduced the network to a skeleton service. The TSSA said service had been reduced by 70 percent.
“That is simply a reflection of the staff anger at attempts to bulldoze through cuts to jobs, services and safety which would reduce the tube to a dangerous, hollowed-out shell,” Crow said in a statement.
He added that the unions remained available for talks with Mayor Johnson to resolve the dispute.
Johnson – who has accused the unions of “holding a gun to the heads of Londoners” – said he respected the rights of the trade unions to represent their workers, but the modernisation plans had to go ahead.
The London Chamber of Commerce said repeated strike action could hurt London’s image as a modern, efficient city and affect long-term investment prospects.
Based on figures from previous strikes in 2010, the business lobby said the two 48-hour strikes could cost the financial capital over 200 million pounds ($326 million).
Turnout at the vote for the strike was only 30 percent, according to Transport for London (TfL), the body that runs the network. Johnson has said he favours new rules permitting strikes only if at least 50 percent of a union’s members take part in the voting.
Cameron’s spokesman said the Conservatives, the larger party in Britain’s coalition government, were considering putting unspecified but related measures in their manifesto for the next election in 2015.
“They are actively looking at this area with a view to the next Conservative manifesto,” the spokesman added.
– REUTERS
The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC JV) – Operator of the NNPC Limited, SPDC, TotalEnergies and Nigerian Agip Oil Company Joint Venture – has, announced the donation of US$1 million to support efforts to provide relief to over half a million people displaced in flood impacted communities of Borno State.
Managing Director, SPDC, and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Osagie Okunbor, said, “The donation will go into the procurement and distribution of relief materials and medical supplies for displaced residents who are now in urgent need of critical aid.”
He added that a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), local to the region with understanding of working with displaced people, will manage the distribution of the materials in collaboration with the Borno State Emergency Management Agency.
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According to Okunbor, the SPDC JV intervention was in response to the alert issued in September by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), following the significant rise in water levels caused by the overflowing of the Alau Dam, and the calls for support by Borno State Governor, Babagana Umara Zulum.
“We consider providing this support to be of necessity to demonstrate our commitment to our society and the duty of care to our people. It expresses our deep concern for the victims of the devastating floods in Borno State,” Okunbor said.
He noted that the SPDC Joint Venture’s gesture is a continuation of similar assistance given over the years to the region that is recovering from recent conflicts.
Chief Upstream Operating Officer of the NNPC Upstream Investment Management Services (NUIMS), Bala Wunti, in a statement, added, “The urgency in providing this relief is important given the region’s existing vulnerabilities, with people recently barely recovering from conflict-induced displacement. The flooding has severely disrupted socio-economic activities, with women and children being disproportionately affected and we are glad that the joint venture is able to provide succour at this time.”
Wunti said, “As a responsible corporate organization, NNPC is glad to support the SPDC Joint Venture in this essential activity. Our thoughts are with those affected and with the government agencies working tirelessly to provide relief. We pledge to support ongoing efforts through immediate humanitarian aid and long-term partnerships for sustainable recovery.”
Investors on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) saw a boost of N217 billion added to their portfolios on Thursday, with the All-Share Index rising by 0.37% to close at 96,924.86 points.
This increase also lifted market capitalization to N58.73 trillion, driving the year-to-date return to 29.62%.
The insurance, consumer goods, oil and gas, and industrial goods sectors saw gains, increasing by 1.84%, 0.01%, 1.77%, and 0.02%, respectively, while the banking sector experienced a slight decline of 0.38%.
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A total of 33 stocks advanced, with top gainers including Conoil, Aradel, Eunisell, John Holt, and Thomas Wyatt. Meanwhile, Tantalizer, NGX Group, and Wema Bank were among the 17 decliners.
Trading activity surged with a 744.54% increase in volume and 16.48% increase in value, as 744.54 million shares worth N16.48 billion were traded across 9,700 deals. Consolidated Hallmark led in volume with 124.8 million shares, followed by Japaul Gold and EllahLakes. FBN Holdings, which recently opened its N150 billion rights issue, also featured prominently on the volume chart.
This robust trading activity highlights renewed investor confidence and growing momentum in Nigeria’s capital market.
Nigeria would soon have her own definition of free market, albeit by judicial interpretation, so long as the petroleum sector is concerned.
This follows the legal tussle on the legality of importation of refined products into Nigeria, on the heels of the deregulation of that sector.
Biztellers reports that three oil marketers, AYM Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited, have approached the Federal High Court in Abuja, praying for a dismissal of a suit filed by the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals (DPRP) to stop them from importing refined petroleum products.
The marketers, in response to an originating summon filed by the DPRP, filed a joint counter affidavit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/1324/2024, and dated November 5, 2024.
They maintained that granting the application of the DPRP would spell doom for Nigeria’s oil sector.
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Their legal and economic argument assert that any form of monopoly for Nigeria’s oil sector is a recipe for disaster.
Recall that the DPRP in its originating summon dated September 6, 2024, had sued the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC Ltd), AYM Shafa Limited, A. A. Rano Limited, T. Time Petroleum Limited, 2015 Petroleum Limited, and Matrix Petroleum Services Limited as 1st to 7th defendants respectively.
Specifically, the DPRP prayed the court to declare that the NMDPRA was in violation of Sections 317(8) and (9) of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) by issuing licenses for the importation of petroleum products.
It asserted that such licenses should only be issued in circumstances where there is a petroleum product shortfall.
Consequently, the DPRP urged the court to declare that the NMDPRA was in violation of its statutory responsibilities under the PIA for not encouraging local refineries, the DPRP inclusive.
As a result, Shafa, A. A. Rano, and Matrix Petroleum, countered that the DPRP does not produce adequate petroleum products for the daily consumption of Nigerians.
According to their affidavit, the plaintiff had not placed anything before the court to prove the contrary.
They argued that they are well qualified and entitled to be issued an import licence by the NMDPRA to import petroleum products in Nigeria within the meaning of Section 317(9) of the PIA.
They also noted that they are fully qualified for the issuance of the import licences issued to them by the 1st defendant, as they duly met all the legal requirements for the issuance of such import licences, before the same were issued to them.
They categorically stated that, “The import licences lawfully and validly issued to the defendants did not in any way whatsoever, cripple the plaintiff’s business or its refinery.
“The import licenses issued to the defendants by the 1st defendant are in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act, 2018, and other relevant laws.”
They insisted that giving the DPRP the power of monopoly in Nigeria’s petroleum industry as it sought in the instant suit, would kill competitive pricing of petroleum products in the country.
They cautioned that such an act would further deteriorate the country’s critically ailing economy.
They also added that it would “unleash untold hardship on Nigerians, all of which constitute a recipe for disaster in the polity”.
The marketers explained that if Nigeria puts all her energy eggs in one basket by stopping the importation of petroleum products and allowing the plaintiff to be the sole producer and supplier of petroleum products in Nigeria, with liberty to determine the prices at which it supplies the products, the prices of petroleum products will continue to rise and energy security will elude Nigeria.
In addition, they pointed out that should the DPRP break down being a monopolized sector, Nigeria would be plunged into a-difficult-to-manage energy crisis.
“That in the event of any breakdown in or obstruction to the production chain of the plaintiff which stops it from producing, Nigeria will be thrown into energy crises because it does not have the reserves that would last it for at least 30 days that it would need to order, pay for, freight and import refined products into tanks in Nigeria.
“That amidst the glaring absence of any credible and demonstrable proof that the plaintiff refines and supplies adequate petroleum products for the daily use/consumption of Nigerians, is a recipe for disaster in Nigeria’s energy sector,” they wrote.
They further told the court that granting the reliefs sought by the plaintiff was a design to leave Nigeria and Nigerians at the mercy of the plaintiff with respect to the availability and cost of purchasing petroleum products in the country.
The presiding judge, Justice Inyang Ekwo fixed January 20, 2025, for a report of settlement or service.
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